A novel unique in its time, and unique today, Crime and Punishment is a highly psychological book that follows a young murderer, Raskolnikov, and narrates in extreme detail the current of thought of this character before, during and after the crime. Although it is still an exciting moment in the book, the crime itself is not what is important in Crime and Punishment; it is the consequent psychological implications for oneself that fill most of the book. Raskolnikov’s internal turmoil is reflected in a pathetic, almost Shakespearean fallacy: the chaos and sheer noise of this book’s St. Petersburg setting reflects Raskolnikov’s ‘division’ in his mind.
The book has strong religious overtones that increase in magnitude as the book progresses, although I won’t reveal more to keep the plot unknown. Crime and Punishment, a sharp and challenging novel (regarding the questions it raises), will require you to review your current beliefs. Considering the depth of this novel, it is quite incredible that Dostoevsky wrote it in a hurry to pay off debts; the level of complexity is unbecoming for a book written in such a hurry.
“Go immediately, at this very moment, stand at the crossroads, bow down, first kiss the land you have desecrated, and then bow down to the whole world and say aloud to all men: ‘I am a murderer!’ Then God will send you life again. “
It’s also about an idea that perhaps everyone has come across in some way: If you could kill a selfish, wealthy old woman and use her money to benefit other people, do you have the right to do so? Or in more abstract terms, does someone have the right to take or harm another person for the greater good? Raskolnikov believes that there are certain “extraordinary” people who have the right to transgress social law to bring about greater change; use Napoleon and Moses as an example. What Moses did (free his enslaved people) was in fact against the laws of his time, but it is clear that what he did was for the greater good. And this is just one of the many insightful ideas that are discussed throughout this astonishingly deep book; this is recommended for adults of all ages and tastes.
“Crime? What crime?” he yelled in sudden fury. “That I killed a vile noxious insect, an old moneylender, who served no one! … Killing her was the expiation of forty sins. I was sucking the life of the poor. Was that a crime?”
